Marjayoun, Khiam, Lebanon: UN Interim Force (UNIFIL) killed by car bomb

Spanish envoy: Madrid ready to help Lebanon (Roundup)

Jul 29, 2007, 19:59 GMT

Beirut - Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, said Sunday that Spain is ready to offer the 'necessary support' to help reach a solution to solve Lebanon's political crisis and ensure stability.
'I will try to meet all the political parties to try to find a solution to end this crisis,' Moratinos said after a two-hour meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora. 'We want to help Lebanon to return to the peaceful atmosphere and prosperity.'
He stressed that Spain has pledged to help Lebanon both politically and militarily, noting the contingent of Spanish troops sent to serve in the United Nations peace mission in southern Lebanon following last year's 33-day war with Israel.
Moratinos is due to inspect Spanish troops Monday in southern Lebanon, following last month's blast that killed six soldiers in the UN force.
On June 24, three Spaniards and three Colombians, part of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) serving in Lebanon, were killed when a car bomb struck their armoured vehicle as they patrolled the main road between the towns of Marjayoun and Khiam.
It was the first fatal attack on UN peacekeepers since UNIFIL's mandate was expanded last year in the wake of the devastating conflict between Israel and the Shiite militia Hezbollah.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for last month's attack, but Lebanon has linked the incident to a standoff since May between al- Qaeda-inspired militants and the Lebanese Army at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
Spain has deployed nearly 1,100 troops to southeastern Lebanon near the Israeli border as part of UNIFIL, which has 13,225 soldiers from 30 countries.
'We hope that together with the Lebanese officials we will be able to face all the challenges that is facing this dear country,' Moratinos said.
He is due to visit Syria late Monday to meet with Syrian officials.
'I have always hoped that Syria would be a part of the solution (in Lebanon) and not part of the problem,' Moratinos said.
Syria was Lebanon's power broker until 2005, when former prime minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated and Damascus was blamed for his killing, a charge that Syria still denies.
The international and local pressure following the Hariri assassination pushed Syria in April 2005 to pull troops from Lebanon after 30 years of military presence.
Upon his arrival at Beirut International Airport, Moratinos met with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who was on a similar mission to Lebanon to solve the eight-month political crisis in the country.
'I am happy to pursue the efforts exerted by France to resolve the crisis,' Moratinos told reporters after meeting briefly with Kouchner at the airport.
Kouchner, who ended a two-day visit Sunday, headed to Cairo to brief the foreign ministers of Egypt and Saudi Arabia and the Arab League secretary general on his talks in Beirut. He left Lebanon with no tangible progress.
France has taken the lead in trying to resolve the Lebanese crisis, seeking to gather Lebanese political parties to end their differences through negotiations.
The resignation in November 2006 of six pro-Syrian cabinet ministers including five Shiites sparked Lebanon's worst political crisis since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.
If Lebanese political leaders fail to resolve their differences in the coming weeks, observers fear a dangerous situation leading to a power vacuum or even the creation of rival governments with more violence possible.
The Hezbollah-led opposition has demanded the establishment of a national unity government in which the opposition would have veto powers.
The anti-Syrian majority has rejected the demand and insisted that this can only happen if the opposition backed by Berri agrees to stop boycotting parliamentary sessions to ensure the quorum required for presidential elections to replace pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud by a November 25 deadline.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur